If my week of predictions for week 3 were a football game, it would be one of those games that a coach says “we’re just going to burn the films of this game and move forward”. I wound up with only 6 right and 10 wrong, but would like to point out that I went way out on a long limb in picking Buffalo to upset New England, and would’ve had the upset right if the Bills’ defense had bothered to show up. Also, kickers missing short field goals cost me games involving New Orleans and Oakland. The overall record for 3 weeks is now 27 right and 20 wrong. Here are my week 4 selections:
New York Jets at Buffalo – the Bills made the right move by changing quarterbacks and should be competitive in this game at home, but I have no faith in their soft, passive defense. The Jets will win a close game by steamrolling the defense with their running game in the 4th quarter.
Cincinnati at Cleveland – great spot for an upset here but the Bengals have too much offense for the Browns to keep up with. Cincinnati wins this edition of the Battle of Ohio.
Baltimore at Pittsburgh – kudos to the Steeler defense for shocking everybody by winning 3 consecutive games without Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens play pretty good defense also and aren’t intimidated by the Steelers. They would win this game even if Big Ben were playing.
Denver at Tennessee – the Titans win handily at home behind a big game from Chris Johnson and smothering defense.
Detroit at Green Bay – the Lions are playing better than their 0-3 record shows but unfortunately they catch the Packers coming off a poor, penalty-filled performance on Monday night. The Packers will be focused and will win easily.
San Francisco at Atlanta – if the Niners couldn’t even be competitive on the road in Kansas City, they won’t here either. The Falcons, buoyed by their big OT win in New Orleans, pull out another win.
Carolina at New Orleans – just like the Lions going into Green Bay, this is a bad spot for the Panthers, going into the Superdome to face an angry Saints team coming off a loss. Even though divisional games are usually competitive, the Saints win by double digits here.
Seattle at St. Louis – Sam Bradford is getting comfortable and the Rams are growing in confidence each week, and the Seahawks are inconsistent and usually lay eggs on the road. The Rams win a close game for their second win in a row.
Indianapolis at Jacksonville – this may be the biggest mismatch in the early going so far this year. The Jaguars are struggling in all phases of the game and the Colts, after getting a wakeup call on opening day from the Texans, are back to their surgically precise selves again. The Colts will win big on the road here.
Houston at Oakland – if the Texans are really going to get over the hump and become true playoff contenders this season, this is the type of game they have to win. The Raiders are a handful for any team, especially at home, but I’ll go with Houston in a close game.
Washington at Philadelphia – Donovan McNabb returns to his old stomping grounds, and both teams will be stoked to win this game. It’s a divisional game so the teams would be extra motivated anyway, but the emotions will be running higher than normal. I like the Eagles, rejuvenated on offense behind Michael Vick, to ruin McNabb’s homecoming. McNabb should play well, but overall Philadelphia is a better team.
Arizona at San Diego – the Chargers are off to their usual slow start, but they can’t let the Chiefs pull too far ahead of them in the AFC West race. They need to win this game and will coast to a victory at home.
Chicago at New York Giants – the Bears are the biggest surprise in the NFL so far this season, and the Giants the biggest enigma. I expect Jay Cutler to struggle against a motivated NY defense and pick the Giants to tough out a win at home.
New England at Miami – marquee Monday night matchup between 2 AFC East rivals. Miami has the better defense, and even in the Patriots’ Super Bowl seasons the Dolphins always seemed to have their number. The Dolphins’ running game is the difference as they control the clock and keep Tom Brady & Company off the field enough to pull out a win.
